BRICS Political Parties, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum was successfully held in Fuzhou, China from June 10 to 13. Mr. Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech entitled Pooling Wisdom and Efforts towards Common Development and a Brighter Future. The forum adopted Fuzhou Initiative and reached agreement on Recommendations of the Ninth BRICS Academic Forum to BRICS Xiamen Summit.

During the three-day forum, under the theme of Pooling Wisdom and Efforts towards Common Development and a Brighter Future, over 400 delegates from political parties, think tanks and civil society organizations of BRICS countries and other developing countries held intensive discussions and offered valuable suggestions and insights on how to further enrich practical cooperation among BRICS countries, deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges and build new platforms for south-south cooperation.

Centering on the theme of Stronger People-to-People Bonds for Better Cooperation, two sub-forums, i.e. BRICS Civil Forum and BRICS and Developing Countries Civil Forum, were held organized by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) and co-organized by Fujian Association for International Friendly Contact. Representatives from 80 Chinese and foreign civil society organizations carried out in-depth discussions on topics of common interests, such as Public support for BRICS cooperation: status quo and the way forward, Role of civil society organizations in facilitating BRICS cooperation: areas of strength and options, Enhanced exchanges and cooperation among civil society organizations in BRICS countries: ways and means, Importance of people-to-people connectivity and people-to-people interactions under the new circumstances, Towards a stronger voice of emerging markets and developing countries at the international stage: role of civil society organizations. Broad consensus was reached on the two civil forums and relevant recommendations were incorporated within the Fuzhou Initiative, the outcome paper of the BRICS Political Parties, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organizations Forum.